Introduction to Continuum Mechanics

Fall 2001
Instructor: Dr. Francesco Costanzo409D Earth & Engineering Sciences Bldg.
Phone: (814) 863-2030
E-mail: costanzo@engr.psu.edu
Oce Hours: MWF at 10:00 A.M.11:00 A.M. or by appointment
Required Texts: P. Chadwick, Continuum Mechanics: Concise Theory and Problems,
Dover Publishing, 1999 (rst edition: Wiley, 1976).
A. J. M. Spencer, Continuum Mechanics, Longman, 1980.
Additional References
1. P. Haupt, Continuum Mechanics and Theory of Materials, Springer-Verlag, 2000.
2. R. M. Bowen, Introduction to Continuum Mechanics for Engineers, Plenum Press, 1989.
3. M. E. Gurtin, An Introduction to Continuum Mechanics, Academic Press, 1989.
Course Objective
This course provides the fundamental concepts and methods used in the mathematical modeling
of solids and uids. Many material systems, regardless of their nanostructure, can be considered
continuous from a macroscopic viewpoint. This apparently simple abstraction is, in reality, the
cornerstone of most of the mathematical models of materials used in engineering.
The course will cover the fundamental aspects of continuum theories: (i ) the description of de-
formation (kinematics), (ii ) the basic conservation laws, and (iii ) the description of the constitutive
behavior of both uids and solids. Both nonlinear and linear kinematics is treated as well as index
and direct notations. Conservation principles will be derived according to both the Lagrangian and
Eulerian frameworks.
Special attention will be paid to the relation between constitutive equations and the form of
resulting boundary value problems. Applications will include both nonlinear and linear elasticity as
well as compressible and incompressible uids. In the case of elastic solids, the analysis of material
symmetry will be covered so as to be applicable to anisotropic materials (composites).
New Teaching Approach
A new approach to the teaching of Continuum Mechanics will be used. In particular, the course
presentation will heavily rely on graphic animations to illustrate all of the various aspects of the
course. These animations have been created using the symbolic and numerical analysis package
Mathematica. The software with which the animations are created will be made available to all of
the students in the course to allow them to design their own interactive virtual experiments. This
will allow students to interactively create and animate deformations of a material sample as well
as visualize the deformation of a material as it derives from an assigned constitutive theory. The
use of Mathematica will be encouraged in the solution of homework problems. If necessary, a few
tutorial sessions on the use of Mathematica will be organized.
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Grading Scheme and Exams
The overall grade in the course will consists of the average of the grades gained in the following
three activities:
1. Homework (worth 1/3 of the overall grade);
2. One midterm take-home exam (worth 1/3 of the overall grade); and
3. A take-home nal exam (worth 1/3 of the overall grade).
Course Outline
1. Mathematical Preliminaries
Index and Direct Notations
Tensor Algebra and Calculus
Divergence and Stokes Theorems
2. Kinematics
Deformation and Deformation Rates
Transformation of Linear Surface and Volume Elements
Finite and Innitesimal Strain Tensors
3. Conservation Laws and Thermodynamics
Balance of Mass
Balance of Linear and Angular Momentum
Balance of Energy
Theorem of Virtual Work
First Law of Thermodynamics (Balance of Energy)
Second Law of Thermodynamics (Entropy Production Inequality)
4. Classical Constitutive Equations
Isothermal Nonlinear Elastic Solid
Isothermal Linearized Elasticity
Newtonian Fluid
The Viscous Heat Conducting Fluid
5. General Aspect of Constitutive Theory
Invariance Requirements
Thermodynamics Constraints
Material Symmetry
Special Kinematic Assumptions
6. Kinematics and Balance Laws for Discontinuous Processes
Moving Interfaces
Jump Conditions of the Basic Balance Laws
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